Securing The Future
by PerfectCell
Summary: Having retired from his role of Hokage, Kakashi has decided to take on a new student in an effort to help keep Konoha safe for years to come. This student ends up being none other than Mirai Sarutobi, daughter of Asuma and Kurenai Sarutobi, granddaughter to the Third Hokage. Kakashi, however, did not expect new danger to arise as quickly as it did.
1. Chapter 1: An Explanation

_DISCLAIMER: Naruto and all of it's characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, not me._

_AUTHORS NOTE:_

_Welcome to **Securing The Future**, a story that will focus on Kakashi Hatake taking on a new student, Mirai Sarutobi, and the unexpected danger that arises during their adventure as teacher and student.  
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_This will be my first non-one shot story of any kind, so there might be a bump or two along the way, but I'm dedicated to making this story an enjoyable one for you all._

_The point of view could change from chapter to chapter. I'll start doing this from more of a 3rd person viewpoint, but I might experiment with doing it from a 1st person point of view as well._

_This takes place shortly after Chapter 700's ending. No official timeline has been stated or set, but I'm going with the idea that 16 years has passed since the 4th Shinobi War concluded. As a reference, Kakashi's age is set around 47, Mirai is 16. With that set, let's get started. :)_

As the smoke cleared, a bruised and visibly exhausted Mirai Sarutobi was revealed to the Rokudaime Hokage, Kakashi Hatake. "Still not quite good enough, Mirai-kun," he said, referring to her failed attempt to counter his Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu. "Like I've told you in the past, we're going to have to work on your versatility," he remarked as he grabbed her hand to help her stand. "Your katon abilitiy isn't on par with mine yet. You should have used a suiton technique as a counter, rather than trying to fight fire with fire."

"Well this isn't exactly fair, Kakashi-sensei" Mirai stated, as she struggled to remain standing, even with her sensei's assistance. "Not only do you have a power and experience advantage over me, this elemental training is still a bit new to me," she reminds him, referring to her training mostly being restricted to using her father's chakra blades.

"Yes, well, we'll continue to work on fixing that," he told her with his trademark smiling eye, "Wanting to follow in your father's footsteps is by no means a bad thing, but you've taken after your grandfather in how great your potential is when it comes to using the elements," reminding her once again, "And becoming a versatile ninja is one of the greatest assets you can have."

"You've made a good deal of progress in just these 4 weeks that we've been training," he told her proudly, "Despite you losing that battle, the size and strength of your katon has grown from what it was when we started."

That statement seemed to have it's desired effect, as her mood brightened considerably. "I figure as a reward for this achievement and your hard work, we can begin to mix in some use of your chakra blades," he continued before his sentence was abruptly cut off with a squeal of excitement coming from his student "...and with that, we'll continue to work towards the ultimate goal." he finished, once again bringing up this ultimate goal that he had referenced to her numerous times.

The announcement of the return of her chakra blade training seemed to have given her a little more energy, as she no longer needed assistance from Kakashi as they walked towards Ramen Ichiraku to enjoy a meal, signifying the end of their training for this day.

"Sensei?" Mirai grabbed the attention of the man sitting beside her after finishing her food. "Can I ask what feels like a bit of a stupid question?"

"Hm?" She had peaked his interest, as she wasn't always the most talkative person, especially after a long and difficult training session such as the one they had just endured.

"Why are we doing this?" she asked, having turned on her stool to face him

"Eating?" he responded, the meaning of her question clearly flying over his head.

"No...I mean the type of training we do," she clarified before continuing, "When I trained with Shikamaru-sensei before he took on the role of being the aide to Lord Seventh, he never pushed me as hard as you do," she pointed out, before adding "As a matter of fact, I've never seen Konohamaru-sensei, Sai-sensei or anyone else push their students this hard."

"Even when I was preparing for the chunin exams, it was mostly academic teaching given to me by Shikamaru, rather than fighting, and even during my fights in the exams, the opponents even from other villages weren't very skilled in fighting," she finished, looking to her sensei for an answer.

"Well," he began, "the world, as you know, is at a level of peace now that it's never seen before, and with that, the need for military power is also at an all-time low. While the basics, as you noted, are still being taught, and the chunin exams are still being held, it's a much less fierce level than what it used to be."

She nodded her head in understanding, waiting for him to continue.

"A sad fact, however, is nothing last forever, and that will include this state of peace we're in now," he informed her, "While predicting when that will occur is impossible, I feel it important to do my part to make sure the generations that follow me will be prepared for it."

"Your grandfather was a great shinobi that was loved by all of Konoha, but he made a mistake in trying to change the methods of our village that had been set by Lord First and continued by Lord Second when they founded Konoha," he continued, as he looked to her to make sure she was still interested in his long winded answer.

"Lord Third craved peace for all villages, and in an attempt to lead others to peace, after the 2nd Shinobi World War, he made the pledge at the Five Kage Summit to greatly reduce the amount of resources put in to building and training Konoha's ranks. This appeared to have had it's desired effect as things were peaceful for many years, but as I'm sure you've read in the history books, it didn't last forever, as eventually another world war broke out, and this time the villages were in a weakened state and the losses were much greater than the war that had preceded it, in large part due to the nations having to go so far as even using children to fight in the war."

Mirai stayed silent as he took a break from his story to take a drink of his water, clearly drawn in to his explanation.

"So, while Lord Third's ideals for peace were admirable and understandable, going to the extremes that he did for peace only ended up hurting the village more than helping it. Which is why once I took over as Hokage following our most recent war, I tried developing a method to continue our training and war preparations without offending the other countries...but, as you can probably tell, I failed. I was never able to figure out a way to explain my reasoning to where I felt it wouldn't create problems."

"So, I figure if I can't keep the village safe going forward with that method, the least I could do is make sure there's always at least one person who understands this message, and is willing to keep the village safe, even long after I've gone." He finished, giving her a smile.

"It will be up to you ultimately, but I hope you continue-" he started to say, but was quickly cut off.

"Don't worry, Sensei, I promise to do everything within my power to keep the village safe and pass on this message to the generations that come after me as well," she told him as sincerely as she could.

"Very well," he claimed, smiling, "With all this said, I figure it's time we both head to our homes." he noted, as her question and his explanation had kept them at the ramen shop later than normal.

He stood from his stool, giving her a smile and a pat on the head.

"I'll see you Monday morning, as per usual. Enjoy your weekend."

_Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. Let me know of any improvements you might have in mind. Not exactly sure on what day the next chapter will be released, but it shouldn't be too long. With some of the background info out of the way, we'll be moving forward in to our story a bit more in the next chapter. :)_


	2. Chapter 2: A New Threat?

_'Three...two...one' _Kakashi's timing was, much to his chagrin, on point, as Mirai appeared behind him, ready to strike with her chakra blades. Her speed had greatly improved over the now 3 and half months they had been training, there was no denying that, but her fighting style was still too predictable, something Kakashi has been working tirelessly to help her correct.

Mirai thought she had her sensei right where she wanted him, using her chakra blade to strike Kakashi's arm, but her mindset quickly turned to disappointment and dread as the man standing in front of her turned in to a pool of water. '_When did he even have time to switch out with his clone? I've kept him in sight during our entire fight...'_

"Your lack of awareness and your predictability has put you in a dangerous situation once again, Mirai" came the voice of her sensei behind her, as she noticed a kunai placed to her throat.

"I don't understand, I never saw you switch out with a clone during our battle." she informed him, as she placed her chakra blades back in her pouch.

"Well, that's probably because the mizu bunshin you were fighting for the last couple of minutes came out of the remnants of the suijinheki I used to counter your katon," he told her, putting his weapon away as well. "The steam from the water that was evaporated by your katon provided me enough cover to retreat behind the tree line."

"Your lack of awareness comes in the form of failing to notice that the clone I used did not use any jutsu to counter the karyudan you used shortly after it was formed," he continued, informing her of her missteps. "As I've told you before, a mizu bunshin only has 10% of the user's chakra. It would have not been capable of performing a suiton great enough to counter your improved katon abilities, and thus had to resort to the much more dangerous method of trying to evade the attack at close range, which it barely accomplished by going underground."

"Your predictability comes in the form of trying the exact same tactic you used against me yesterday. Using a kawarimi to avoid the underground attack by my clone was a fine idea to replicate, however, using the same method of trying to defeat me from behind with your chakra blades would be a move that would get you killed on a battlefield." He told her bluntly, as her face showed her disappointment in herself.

"Using the same trick twice on a high level opponent is almost never going to work, and that opponent will finish the act of plunging his or her kunai in to your throat, unlike me." He hated being so cruel in his words to his student, but it was the only way to get her to understand the severity of the situation, if it were to occur in a setting that wasn't a spar between friendlies.

Mirai was feeling a mixture of shame and disappointment, the thought of these past 3 and half months apparently meaning nothing in regards to her progressing had started to enter her mind.

"Sensei..if I haven't improved practically any at all in over 3 months of training with you, I think you may just be wasting your time with me. It might be time for you to find another student to carry on your ideals, sensei." Kakashi could tell she wasn't saying this melodramatically, rather saying it with worry that she wouldn't be able to defend her village if called upon.

"Nonsense," he told her with a smile, "Your struggles come with the fact that academy and senseis don't train their students with the proper mindset any longer."

"While you may be a chunin, your experience and battle knowledge level when we started training those months ago was lower than what a genin would have been at in the generations before yours," he continued, "Which isn't your fault. You can only know what you've been taught growing up."

"Also, the idea that you've got in your head regarding not improving is wrong. Everything about you, from intelligence, to strength, to stamina, to your elemental abilities has grown at an incredible speed. You can tell you have the bloodlines of both the Sarutobi and the Yuhi in you."

Mirai's mood had improved after his speech, but her self doubt was still looming, something she knew she'd have to get over if she ever wanted to become the kunoichi she's been striving to be ever since she was little.

"Now, let us end our physical training for now and focus on some strategic aspects of your fighting style," now that Kakashi had regained her attention for the training, he was looking to get her mind off of her doubt, "You've become skilled in your use of kawarimi and clones, and with that we can move on to how to amplify the effectiveness of them."

"For example, instead of using your kawarimi to set up a strike with your chakra blades, you can use tactics such as placing explosive tags on your replacement to damage the enemy, which helps give you options. For example, if the opponent does manage to notice the explosive tags and attempts to evade, he or she is setting themselves up for an attack by you." Mirai was listening as closely as she could, burning this advice in to her memory.

"Got it, Sensei. What are some alternative methods for clones?" Kakashi couldn't help but smile at her eagerness to learn, reminded of how Naruto was during his training with himself and Yamato.

"Well, that requires a bit of extra physical training to get down pat, but the method behind it is to-" before Kakashi could finish his sentence, a member of the ANBU Black Ops had appeared kneeling at his side.

"Lord Sixth, the hokage requests your presence. It's urgent." Kakashi's eyes widened some at the mention of it being urgent. Naruto had occasionally went to Kakashi for advice on handling the political side of being Hokage, but never had there been an issue where Naruto sent out a member of the ANBU to get Kakashi.

After the second of shock had passed for Kakashi and the ANBU member had disappeared, he turned to Mirai and said "Welp, I guess we'll have to postpone this discussion until tomorrow. See you then."

Before Mirai could even say anything, he disappeared in a puff of smoke, and she decided to head home.

* * *

><p>Arriving at Naruto's office, he was greeted with the sight of Naruto holding his head in his hands, clearly in thought over whatever urgent issue had required Naruto to send for him.<p>

It wasn't until Shikamaru informed Naruto of Kakashi's presence that he finally looked up at him.

"Sensei, I just received word that Darui, as well as C, his guard for the trip, was found assassinated just outside of the Konoha border by a patrolling ANBU team." Naruto struggled to get the sentence out, having formed a friendship with the Fifth Raikage.

Kakashi found himself in disbelief as well. He had known Darui was coming to Konoha to meet with Naruto about assistance with their food supply. Kumogakure was the village hit the hardest by the 4th Shinobi War, the tailed beast bombs that had landed in and near it's village ruining practically all of their crops and livestock.

Only in recent years had they finally been able to start replenishing their own food supply, but they still required assistance from outside villages, something both Kakashi and Naruto both were happy to help with, as Konoha had stayed untouched.

Kakashi's thoughts were interrupted as Naruto spoke once again, "Ei has of course stepped back in as the Raikage, and is sending a team to investigate the scene, they should be there within the next couple of hours."

"Sensei, I know you've retired from missions, but I would like for you to lead the team I'm sending to help with their investigation. I want to go myself but I know I can't leave my duties here, as among other things, I have to inform our village of what's occurred, and there isn't anyone I trust more than you to lead a mission of this caliber."

As much as Kakashi was hoping he wouldn't have to see anything like this again in his lifetime, he knew he couldn't put Naruto in a difficult situation.

"Of course, Naruto. I'll go to my place and pack up my things now. I'll meet the team at the village entrance as soon as possible." For the 2nd time today, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke, as Naruto let out a relieved sigh, thankful that Kakashi had accepted his plea.

Naruto turned to Shikamaru, his depression evident by the look on his face, "When I took over as Hokage, I thought my tenure would be of nothing but peace, and now just outside of my own village, a Kage gets killed..."

* * *

><p>After Kakashi quickly packed his belongings, he showed up in front of Mirai's home, knocking on the door, there to inform her that he wouldn't be sure of when he'd return.<p>

Kurenai slid open her door, a smile gracing her face once she was met by the sight of Kakashi, but was quickly replaced by a look of concern seeing Kakashi's stressed form.

"Kakashi-san, is everything ok?" She asked, concerned by his appearance.

Mirai left her room and appeared behind her mother at the sound of her sensei's name.

"Naruto will soon be making the announcement that the 5th Raikage and his bodyguard were found assassinated just outside of our village's border by an ANBU team doing their daily patrol. The reason I'm telling you both this now is to inform Mirai that I might not be back tomorrow for our training session." Kakashi in formed them, noting the shock that appeared on their faces as they learned of the tragedy.

"I'm leading the team Naruto is sending to assist Kumogakure's investigative team, and I'm not sure of when our mission will be finished." Kurenai nodded, aware of the severity, but Mirai was still in shock over learning that a Kage had been killed. Despite her sensei's discussion with her about peace never lasting forever, she'd never expected it to come to an end this quickly.

She heard her mother tell Kakashi to be careful, with someone out there both capable of and willing to kill a Kage, and Kakashi made his exit.

Kurenai turned back to her daughter, with the shock of a dead village leader and the worry of her sensei going on a potentially dangerous mission evident on her face.

* * *

><p>Kakashi arrived at the gates, greeted by the sight of Kiba, Akamaru, Shino and Sakura. He was pleased with Naruto's choices, forming a team that gave Kakashi a tracking expert, a sensor-type ninja, and Konoha's greatest medic<p>

"You've all been informed of the matter at hand. It's been over 15 years since a mission of this caliber was issued, and as such allow me to remind you that we must execute our duties to the highest level possible, and as quickly as possible. Keep in mind that an enemy capable of killing the Raikage is on the loose and could potentially still be in that area. Our mission is to assist Kumogakure in investigating the assassination of the 5th Raikage, but never for a second let your guard down."

With a confirmation from each member that they understood his message, Kakashi deemed them ready to set out.

"Let's go."

* * *

><p><em>Thanks to everyone who has read my story so far, and I hope you all enjoyed chapter 2 of Securing The Future. We'll be getting in to some more exciting story lines now with the revelation of the first threat the ninja world has had since the war ended 16 years ago. <em>


	3. Chapter 3: The Ultimate Goal Unveiled!

Kakashi wasn't exactly sure what shocked him most about the scene of the assassination. When Naruto told him the Raikage had been killed, he had expected it to be not much different than what the scenes of his assassinations looked like...single strike through the heart.

But this assassination? Both bodies had the limbs and head severed. Made only more confusing when Sakura discovered very small holes in the back of both of their heads, most likely made by senbon, which Sakura confirmed was the cause of death for both. Why severe body parts when you've already killed the targets?

As to be expected, there was plenty of blood at the scene, but what had Kakashi confused at first was Kiba and Akamaru confirmed the blood only belonged to two people, those being the two disfigured bodies on the ground.

Kakashi was expecting the Raikage to not go down without at least some kind of fight, but when Sakura pointed out the only difference between the two bodies, the blood red eyes of C, Kakashi was able to come up with what he felt to be the most logical explanation.

It was likely that the enemy or enemies used some kind of genjutsu on C to take control of his body, which they used to kill the Raikage from behind, causing him to never know what hit him. He came to this idea with the knowledge of what his sharingan genjutsu would do to his opponents' eyes, some becoming blood shot, some becoming completely red, like C's had done.

With no scent to track and Shino being unable to sense anyone, they were at a bit of a dead end. After helping the Kumogakure team bag up each body, Kakashi and his team returned to Konoha and reported their findings and his assumption to Naruto.

* * *

><p>Kakashi now stood in front of Sasuke, the only known living sharingan user left, in an attempt to figure out what could have caused this.<p>

"C's bloodshot eyes, and the lack of any noticeable defensive wounds on the Raikage or blood of the enemy at the scene, lead me to believe C was put under some kind of genjutsu." Kakashi told Sasuke, just as he had Naruto earlier. "Given sharingan genjutsu is the only genjutsu I know of that causes this effect on the opponent's eyes, I've come to you to ask if there's any chance of another member of the Uchiha still living."

Shaking his head, Sasuke responded as bluntly as he always does, "You know as well as I do that outside of me, my daughter is the only other living member of the Uchiha."

"Hm, I also used to think that the only two surviving members of the Uchiha clan were you and Itachi, but then Obito showed himself to still be alive." Kakashi was about to conclude the conversation, but Sasuke spoke once again.

"Now that you mention Obito's name, he had a hideout where he stored all of the sharingan he took from the members of the Uchiha clan. Outside of the eyes that Danzo took after the massacre and used for izanagi in his fight against me, Obito had them all. It's where he kept me when I had Itachi's eyes implanted." Kakashi's eyes widened at this news, fearing the ramifications of the wrong person coming across that hideout.

"Where exactly is this hideout located?" Kakashi asked, already deciding he would be making a trip to this hideout to look in to things himself.

"It's on the outskirts of the Land of Iron. Obito knew that would be the least likely place for someone to stumble upon it, and it's inside of a cave that's been closed in by numerous rock slides in the past. Obito would use his kamui abilities to phase through the rocks, so no one would ever notice any rocks being moved from what used to be the entrance." Sasuke finished explaining.

"I've never traveled back there, having no interest in being in that cave again, nor having any excuse to enter the Land of Iron. I can imagine you'll now want to go see it for yourself, so I'll draw you a map on where to find it once you enter the Land of Iron, but only on one condition, and that is if you promise me to destroy every single eye in there."

Kakashi agreed, and after being given the map Sasuke had drawn for him, left to go speak to Naruto about his new plans.

* * *

><p>Naruto listened to Kakashi's plan, and while understanding the reason for wanting to go, he wasn't sure if it was worth doing. "Are you sure this is a trip worth taking? You may be retired from the Hokage position, but if whoever it is that assassinated Darui and C is trying to make themselves known, you could potentially be a target of theirs once you leave the village."<p>

"Maybe it would be better to send an ANBU team instead. None of the ANBU we've had patrolling since the assassination have been attacked, it doesn't seem that they're a target this person, or if it's multiples, these people."

Kakashi understood Naruto's worry, but knew it had to be him to go. "I appreciate your worry for me, Naruto, but I promised Sasuke I would do something for him once there, and I can't allow anyone to go in my place."

"Plus, I have someone in mind to take with me, and I have the advantage of being extra cautious, something that, sadly, the Raikage and C didn't have. I'm also someone who has personal experience in dealing with doujutsus, of course." Kakashi ended, smiling in reference to his days of wielding a sharingan.

"Are you sure Mirai is qualified to go along with you on this?" Naruto asked, already knowing his newest student would be the one he would take with him. "I know you've been training her, but I doubt she's at a level where she could take on someone skilled enough to cast a genjutsu on an elite sensor like C, and her being there would hamper your ability to fight, given you'd have to worry about protecting her."

Kakashi knew Naruto had a point, but was also aware that this was a chance to give Mirai some much needed experience. "She'll be fine. She's come along further than you might expect."

Naruto sighed, but finally decided to give in. "I still don't think this is a very good idea, but I'll trust you on it. Go prepare for your mission."

Kakashi smiled and thanked Naruto, before disappearing to go inform Mirai.

* * *

><p>"With all due respect, Kakashi...are you out of your fucking mind?" Kakashi had never seen Kurenai get quite this angry before, but knew she was speaking out for the safety of her child.<p>

"While I know she's improved under your teaching, taking her on a mission like this is far too dangerous for her current level." Kurenai was still visibly angry, and before Kakashi could say something, Mirai finally spoke up.

"You don't have to speak about me as if I'm not here, mom. Sensei wouldn't ask me to do something he didn't think I could handle." Mirai reassured her, as her mother finally began to calm down some.

Kakashi took that as a cue for him to speak, "Not only that, but we won't be leaving immediately. There's still an aspect of her training that we'll complete before setting out."

Mirai wasn't sure what Kakashi was referencing, but joined in on trying to make her mother feel at ease, "See, mom? I'll be just fine."

The unease in Kurenai's body language was easy to see, but her trust in Kakashi ultimately won out. Remembering how often on missions he would sacrifice his own well being to save his teammates, as well as remembering back to when he jumped in front of her to take the brunt of Itachi's exploding clone, she knew at the very least Kakashi would do everything in his power to keep her safe.

"Alright, but please, at any sign of imminent danger, turn back." Kurenai pleaded, before adding, "That goes for both of you."

* * *

><p>After packing the things she would need for her mission, Kakashi had Mirai follow him. He never told her where he was leading her, leaving their destination a mystery to her until she found herself inside of the Hokage's mansion.<p>

She followed Kakashi down a hallway on the 2nd floor before they stopped, standing in front of a door that had two ANBU members guarding it.

They parted for Kakashi to enter the room, but when she tried to step inside as well, they restricted her access.

She only had to wait a couple of minutes before Kakashi reemerged from the room, holding a scroll in his hand.

She once again followed Kakashi, as they went back outside and headed to their usual training ground, before he finally spoke.

"This scroll is something that was passed down from your great grandfather, Sasuke Sarutobi, to your grandfather, in what was supposed to become a tradition of passing it down to each head of the Sarutobi clan." Kakashi began explaining, "This would have went to your father as well, but his relationship with Lord Third was always a strained one, and as such, he never took over the role of becoming the head of the clan, ending this tradition only 1 generation in to it."

"I guess your grandfather never passed on the knowledge of this to anyone, and given his death was an unexpected one, the knowledge of this scroll almost died with him." Mirai looked on with intrigue, curious as to what was contained in this scroll.

"I learned of this scroll during my tenure as hokage. With the loss of my sharingan, I took it upon myself to train in various methods to strengthen myself. I read hundreds upon hundreds of scrolls located in that room you saw me enter earlier, learning as many techniques as I possibly could, and eventually came across this one." Kakashi continued, finally getting to the contents of the scroll.

"Inside it, I found a summoning contract, in it the information I just described to you, as well as the information that this is the summoing contract for the Monkey King Enma."

Mirai's eyes widened, having heard of the animal that her grandfather was famous for fighting alongside in battle.

"This contract is unique in the fact, at least from the summoning contracts I've seen, that the only people who can sign this contract are those with a certain bloodline. This, of course, being the Sarutobi bloodline." Kakashi finished, walking towards Mirai and handing her the scroll.

"This was the ultimate goal that I've referenced so often. I hadn't intended on giving it to you this early, as I was hoping to be able to hone your skills further, but with this mission we're about to go on, and the unknown surrounding the death of the 5th Raikage, I have no idea what kind of dangers we might be encountering, not only on this mission, but in the future as well."

"If something were to happen to me, or if you find yourself against an opponent you can't handle without me or other backup, this gives you someone to fall back on."

After Kakashi finished, Mirai opened the scroll, reading the required seals to perform and signing her name in blood before resealing the scroll.

"Should I try summoning him now? I've read that not all summons are exactly loyal, and if it does get to the point where I should need to summon him, I don't want to be rejected.." She asked, unsure if a summoning that hadn't even met it's summoner would bother assisting her in battle.

"No. The Monkey King's allegiance is to Konoha, and more specifically the Sarutobi clan. With your blood on the scroll, he will appear whenever you summon him." Kakashi reassured her, and turned to the next subject at hand.

"Now that this is out of the way, are you ready to begin our journey to the Land of Iron?" he asked.

"Absolutely, Sensei."

* * *

><p><em>Hadn't expected to already have 3 chapters done this quickly, but I've been in a writing mood lately, and figured I should get as much writing done as possible before some kind of writers block sets in, haha :P<br>_

_The next chapter will feature the first real action of this story, as Kakashi and Mirai uncover the first clue to helping solve the mystery behind the 5th Raikage's assassination._


	4. Chapter 4: The End of Peace

"This should definitely be it." Kakashi confirmed, taking a final look at his map. It had been a long trip, in large part due to Kakashi wanting to remain cautious and continually scout out the areas ahead of them.

After the samurai guards stationed at the entry of the country received an OK from Okisuke, the general of the country since Mifune's retirement, Kakashi and Mirai made a bee line towards the closed in cave they stood in front of now.

"I'm going to place an explosive tag directly in the middle of the rocks blocking the entrance. I want you to fall back in to the tree line behind us in case this is some kind of trap." Kakashi instructed her, "If this is a trap and something happens to me, I want you to go back to the entrance and inform the guards, understood?"

"Yes sir." Mirai wasn't happy with the idea of potentially leaving her sensei behind, but knew arguing wouldn't do her much good, and she fell back to the tree line as instructed.

She watched as her mentor set the tag and jumped back, before forming a seal and causing the tag to explode. A good amount of smoke blocked her vision for a few seconds, but once it cleared she was relieved to see Kakashi unharmed and an entrance point to the once blocked in cave.

Being given the all-clear, she came out from the trees and followed him in to a cave that, short of the small amount of light coming from the entrance that was just created, was pitch black.

Before she could say anything about the lack of light, she heard the familiar sound of chirping, and looked to her sensei to see he had used his raikiri to give them some light.

"As I expected, there's some torches along the sides of each wall. Light them with your katon, please."

Doing as her sensei instructed, she lit both sides, and just as she turned to follow her sensei forward, she heard his gasp.

"This is even worse than I expected...they're all missing..." She had never heard Kakashi have such worry in his voice before, but as she looked ahead, his statement was confirmed.

There were over 200 glass containers, with name plates of different members of the Uchiha clan under them..and they were all empty.

"Well, they're not exactly missing." The voice from behind them caused both Kakashi and Mirai to jump and immediately turn around.

They observed 5 men coming up from the ground, and as they lifted their heads, Kakashi instantly recognized their red irises and black pupils as sharingans.

"You two have made a very big mistake by coming here...we'll also make sure it's your last." The man in the middle spoke, pulling a kunai out from the pouch on his side.

_'I can't use my preferred fighting style of figuring out their abilities with clones without potentially risking Mirai's life, so I don't have much of a choice here..' _Kakashi thought, before speaking "Listen carefully Mirai, they each only have 1 tomoe in their sharingan, which only grants them the ability to copy handsigns. Given our lack of knowledge on their abilities, after I separate them, play it safe with kenjutsu and taijutsu only. I'll take the 3 on the left side, you'll take the 2 on the right." Kakashi laid out the battle strategy, and after receiving a quick confirmation from Mirai, quickly used doryuheki to separate the group.

They quickly charged ahead, Kakashi with a kunai in hand, Mirai armed with her father's chakra blades. Kakashi reached his group of 3 first, easily dodging and parrying their attacks.

Spotting an opening to attack, he kicked 2 of the 3 away and in to the cave wall, causing the torches around their bodies to fall, as he quickly plunged his kunai through the heart of the remaining enemy, watching his eyes go lifeless as he fell to the ground.

During Kakashi's assault, Mirai had reached her opponents as well, taking the first of the two she encountered by surprise, as he noticed the deep cut on his chest despite the blade missing him. His ally attempted to land a blow as she followed through her attack, but was quickly met with a quick kick to the face. _'Sensei's taijutsu lessons are paying off'_ she thought, as she finished off the enemy she had downed first with a slice through the throat with her chakra blades.

Just as she finished killing her first opponent, she heard a voice shouting "Doton: Ganban Kyu!," and she turned to look back at her sensei, who was quickly being surrounded by rock. "You don't have time to look away from me, you stupid brat," she heard from in front of her, amd despite failing to react quickly enough to the punch he threw, she managed to catch her fall, and quickly retrieve an explosive tag from her pouch, before slapping it on to his stomach and dashing away.

'_Now..', _the tag blew up as she gave the release hand seal, blowing her enemy's body in to countless pieces.

As she turned her head to check on her sensei, the rock dome that had formed around him and began closing in was destroyed, and out ran what looked to her like a large beast made of raiton chakra. As it drew in closer, it separated in to two smaller beasts, striking both of Kakashi's remaining opponents, paralyzing them where they stood.

As quickly as their paralyzation began, their lives ended, as Kakashi appeared behind them, sticking kunai in the back of both of their heads.

"Are you injured, Mirai?" Came the question from her sensei, as he walked towards her to check on her health.

"No, all I was hit with was a punch." She assured him, removing her chakra blades from her hands, looking at the dead bodies around them.

"Not to complain, but I thought you asked to refrain from ninjutsu?" Mirai commented, referencing his instruction to her before the fight.

"Yes, however, during the fight, only one of them used an offensive elemental jutsu despite both of us getting the best of them in taijutsu, and as he performed the ganban kyu, sweat was pouring off of him and he dropped to one knee." Kakashi told her of his observations.

"The sharingan without an Uchiha body is extremely draining on it's user. It took me years of training to use mine in battle without it becoming a hindrance during my missions," he continued, "so it appeared to me that they couldn't much afford the chakra to use any jutsu in battle, and with raiton's superiority to doton, it was a safe option." He finished, turning away from her, and going around to the 4 bodies that remained in tact, destroying the eyes with a kunai, in an attempt to at least partially fulfill his promise to Sasuke.

"You did well today, Mirai. You never panicked and you followed my instructions to the T. That may not sound like much of an accomplishment, but it's easy to forget things in the heat of battle," he complimented her, "The training is really starting to pay off."

"Thank you, Sensei..but it's hard to feel too celebratory when it feels as if we created more questions today than we got answers." Mirai responded, obviously the referencing all the missing sharingan, and encountering enemies who had sharingan implanted in to their eyes.

"Indeed. What we fought here today is only cracking the surface. Things are only going to get much more difficult and complicated here on out." Kakashi confirmed, dreading what was to come for them.

"You were just apart of the battle, as insignificant as it may seem going forward, that will end the peace treaty that was put in to effect 16 years ago. All countries, including Konoha will be forced to prepare for the worst, and restart their war-time training regiments." Kakashi told her, a solemn look evident on his face, even under his mask.

"Someone has taken and we might as well presume the worst and say implanted.." Kakashi paused, as he quickly counted the total number of glass containers, "..258 sharingan in to ninja...well, 253 remaining after today."

"I know 253 doesn't sound like a very big number compared to even 1 country, much less all of them, but as you've learned in school growing up, despite being outnumbered 10 fold by the Senju, the Uchiha fought a war that lasted for years, and could have lasted longer if not for the two sides growing tired of the fighting." Kakashi informed her, making sure she understood the severity of the situation despite the lower numbers of the sharingan.

"The worst part is, for all we know, the stealing of these sharingan occurred after the war ended, and if this enemy has had the 16 years to recruit ninja and hone their sharingan abilities, there's no telling how many out there possess 2 or 3 tomoe sharingan, and we can only pray to Kami that none of them have managed to unlock the Mangekyo Sharingan." Kakashi finished, with hundreds of possibilities going through his head, trying to figure out the best way to approach their new threat.

"Let's bag these bodies and return to Konoha, the sooner we relay this information, the better."

* * *

><p>"...and with that, we're facing the possibility of 253 shinobi possessing the sharingan, and making matters worse, some of them have potentially had 16 years to hone their abilities with it." Kakashi finished his report to the room, which was acting as the meeting place for this emergency Kage Summit, occurring just 3 days after Kakashi and Mirai returned to the village, reporting the news to Naruto.<p>

"So you mean to tell me that Sasuke Uchiha kept this place a secret for 16 years and has allowed these sharringan to fall in to enemy hands?" It was easy to tell Ei was barely able to hold his anger in over the news that his successor and friend was killed by something that could have been prevented.

"Don't lose your temper, Ei..it's not going to help anything," came from Mei, who had accompanied Chojuro to this meeting given the severity, just as Onoki had with Kurostuchi.

"DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING TELL ME TO CALM DOWN, WOMAN." Shouted Ei, no longer able to contain his anger.

"WE ALLOW SASUKE UCHIHA TO BE FREE AFTER ALL OF THE TERROR AND DESTRUCTION HE CAUSED TO ALL VILLAGES REPRESENTED IN THIS MEETING, AND HE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE THE COMMON COURTESY TO INFORM US OF SOMETHING AS SEVERE AS A CAVE HOUSING 258 SHARINGAN!?" Ei ranted, before finally taking a slight breath, lowering his voice just a notch.

"Due to his stupidity and overall lack of care for anyone but his pretentious, stuck up self, my friend and successor, as well as one of our greatest shinobi, WERE KILLED," Ei continued, anger still flowing through him, "I DEMAND that until we figure out who is behind this and how to stop it, Sasuke Uchiha be imprisoned in a country OUTSIDE of Konoha. For all we know, with his past, he's the one behind all of this to begin with. He did want to find some way to revive the Uchiha clan, and with his sick mind I wouldn't be surprised if this was his idea of doing that." Ei finished, still having no trust in the Uchiha.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" shouted Naruto, angry at even the thought of doing such a thing. "If Sasuke knew keeping that cave a secret would have led to this, he wouldn't have done so. He just wanted the memories of that place to die and as the cave crumbled over time, it would have destroyed the sharingan. He's changed, suggesting that he's the one behind this is ridiculous."

"How many times does this make that you've had to make excuses for Sasuke, Naruto?" This time coming from Onoki. "While Ei may be going too far with his accusation that Sasuke is the one behind the sharingan having gone missing, which of course also accuses him of Darui's murder, whether it be directly or indirectly, the decision to keep that cave a secret is an extremely foolish one."

"We all agreed to let Sasuke go free on the condition that he caused no more trouble, and it's hard to argue that this decision of is doesn't fall under causing trouble". Onoki continued, trying to get Naruto to see the point. "It would be within the best interest of the relations of the 5 countries if you agreed to Ei's proposal of locking him up, at least until we can clear him of being behind this."

"Like I've already said, I'm not imprisoning Sasuke." The faces dropped on most of the people in the room, knowing what this meant, before Naruto continued "Imprisoning innocent people is not a practice I'm going to start as Hokage, no matter how loud Ei tries to raise his voice at me."

"Kakashi.." Ei had spoke up again, clearly on his last nerve, "you better speak some sense in to your successor. The only reason this meeting is still going is out of respect for your and Naruto's efforts in the war, but this is the last chance I'm giving him to come to his senses.."

Before Kakashi could even respond, Naruto spoke up, "Kakashi does not speak for me or make my decisions. As Hokage, the decision is mine as to whether or not to imprison Sasuke, and that's simply not going to occur." Naruto stood strong on his decision, confident what he was doing is right.

Ei raised from his seat and told his bodyguards it was time to leave before making one final statement, "Very well. You've made your decision, and now I must make mine. Not only is the peace treaty ending in regards to our war training commencing, Kumogakure's alliance with Konoha ends today as well. I will warn everyone sitting in this room now, it will also end with those of you who decide to stand with Konoha on this stance. I will not tolerate or be friendly with villages that take the assassination of a kage so lightly."

As the remaining 3 kages from other villages started to file out of the room as well, Gaara was the only one to give Naruto any kind of assurance on their alliance staying in tact.

With the room now empty outside of Naruto, Shikamaru and Kakashi, Shikamaru finally spoke up, "Well...that went well, didn't it?"

* * *

><p>Kakashi had been walking around the village so long he had lost track of time. All he knew was that when he had started it was still daylight, and now the sky was completely dark. He finally decided to sit down once he came across a bench, and started to reflect on the day's events.<p>

He guessed he just got lost in his thoughts, as it took his name being shouted before he finally realized there was someone..or, to be exact, 2 people right next to him, none other than his best friend Gai and his aide as hokage, Shizune.

Gai and Shizune had gotten together not long after the war, and Kakashi was happy for his best friend. Without being able to train, he'd need someone to have in his life to help fill that hole, and Shizune offered that. And with him just recently getting a prosthetic to replace his badly damaged right leg, Shizune was able to help him learn how to walk again. While he wouldn't be able to become a ninja again, he was at least no longer confined to a wheel chair.

"So, we've heard of the events that happened at the summit today.." Gai started, snapping Kakashi's thoughts from Gai and Shizune's relationship.

"Yeah.." Kakashi began to reply, "Not exactly how we wanted it to go."

"I hate to add on to what is already a pretty full plate for you, Kakashi-sama, but there's rumors that the council is going to consider impeaching Naruto and putting you back in as hokage after today's events." Shizune reluctantly told him, knowing he'd hate the idea.

"Yeah, I expected as much. They're going to try and do everything they can to get the alliance back." Kakashi confirmed, before adding "But I'll try and get them to see things from Naruto's prospective. Impeaching him isn't going to do us any good." Kakashi explained, having already went over this in his head.

"Well, if anyone's capable of keeping things together, it's you." Shizune added, before Gai enthusiastically added "YOSHI! I didn't pick you as my eternal rival for no reason, Kakashi!"

"You'll help lead us back to peace, no doubt about it." He added with his signature thumbs up and shining smile.

Kakashi smiled at his friend's enthusiasm and trust in him, but still couldn't help but feel he may not be able to fix this problem.

"Well, Kakashi-sama, we have to get home. Gai needs to rest his leg after being on his prosthetic all day. Please try to go home and get some sleep tonight, and remember we'll be there for you any time you need help going forward." With thanks from Kakashi, Shizune and Gai bid their farewells.

Sadly, Kakashi knew sleep was probably not going to be in his plans any time soon.

* * *

><p><em>I hope you all enjoyed chapter 4 of Securing The Future. We've created a lot of questions with this chapter. Who is behind stealing the sharingan eyes? Is Ei right to be suspicious of Sasuke? With the peace treaty over, what kind of training regiment will they have to implement to prepare Konoha for the impending challenges? With Kumogakure's alliance ending with Konoha, and two other countries still in question, what kind of issues will this pose? Is Naruto still fit to be Hokage? With all of the new responsibilities suddenly on Kakashi's shoulders, will his mentoring of Mirai have to come to an end?<em>

_All that and more will have to be answered going forward. While this story will stay focused mainly on Kakashi and Mirai, you'll begin to see the inclusion of many other characters going forward in this trying time for our heroes._


	5. Chapter 5: A Close Call

The month that had followed had not been an easy one for Konoha, as during the training Kakashi and Sasuke were administering to teach the various ranks of Konoha in the abilities of the sharingan and how to combat it, two of the smaller villages inside of the Fire Country were attacked and burned to the ground, leaving few survivors.

Two 4-men ANBU squads were killed in the process, and the remaining communities in the Fire Country went in to a panic, all requesting shinobi of the Leaf to come guard them, which nearly stretched Konoha's weak resources to it's breaking point.

"I'm not even sure of the point behind sending those teams out to the villages, sensei.." Naruto admitted, obviously concerned over what to do. "Two ANBU teams were wiped out..what good is sending those 3 men teams?"

"Naruto, for one, you had no choice but to send the teams. If the villagers don't feel safe in the Fire Country, they will go and find some place they do feel safe, and too many making that choice would cripple our economy." Kakashi pointed out, understanding the potential ramifications of villagers leaving.

"To add on to that, the ANBU we have today is not exactly the ANBU of old. The men that were killed had no real fighting experience, only what they'd been taught in training. We're dealing with an enemy that we have to assume has been building their forces for the past 16 years," Kakashi added, before finishing his point, "You now have shinobi out there actually have experience fighting in a dire situation."

"What we have to do is not worry about them. We have to worry about finding out who or what is behind this, and figuring out how to settle any potential conflicts with the other 4 Hidden Villages." Kakashi stated, trying to get his former student focused on the right things.

"I can't find it in me to stop worrying about the people I've sworn to protect as hokage, sensei, but I guess we have no choice but to switch our focus for now." Naruto admitted, as he, Kakashi and Shikamaru began brainstorming, much as they had for the majority of this past month.

* * *

><p>A loud explosion, followed by the screams of many people, awoke Mirai from her slumber. Quickly grabbing her flak jacket and gear, she stepped outside of her tent, with Genma stepping out of his at the same time.<p>

Quickly following Genma to the source of the explosion, she could only pray that Raidō wasn't injured. They were approaching their 3rd week of being stationed at this smaller village, and it was Raidō's turn at night watch.

Mirai hadn't actually expected this village to be attacked given how close it was in proximity to Konoha, as the enemy would have had to pass over several others to reach this one, and her surprise was only amplified when they reached the small crater caused by the explosion that had awoken them.

8 people in total stood near the small crater, where Raidō's body..or what was left of it, anyway, was lying.

_'If they beat Raid_ō-_sama this easily and this badly..what kind of chance do we even-' _Mirai's train of thought was cut off by the sound of Genma's voice.

"Stay focused Mirai! You can't afford to let your guard down here." Genma scolded her, noticing her state of shock.

"Right..sorry, Genma-sama." Recovering from her state of shock, she looked up at the opponents facing her.

"You mean to tell me that they only have 3 of you pathetic ninja defending each village? What a joke." Came the voice of one of the 8 people standing across from them, and as Mirai looked at his face, fear struck her, as she noticed the 3 tomoe sharingan in both of his eyes.

Mirai quickly scanned the other faces, noting 2 others possessing the sharingan as well, but theirs differed from the man who spoke, only possessing 2 tomoe.

Adding to her surprise, those were the only 3 who possessed the sharingan. As far as she could tell, the other 5 did not have sharingan in their eyes, instead appearing to be normal.

"Remember, Mirai, under no circumstances during this battle do you make eye contact with the 3 tomoe sharingan user." Genma reminded her of Kakashi and Sasuke's lesson to the teams dispatched to protect the villages.

"Our job right now is to hold them off until the backup from Konoha arri-" Genma's sentence was cut off by one of the 8 launching several kunai towards them.

"That's enough speaking, we don't have all day." commented one of the 2 tomoe users, as Genma and Mirai both evaded the projectiles.

Taking out her chakra knives, Mirai rushed to the right, targeting two of the non-sharingan enemies.

Ducking below a kick from one of the two, she quickly swung her chakra blade upwards, amputating the leg.

Before she could continue her assault, the agonizing pain of a kunai being shoved in to her shoulder hit her like a ton of bricks, before it was followed up with a swift kick to the gut, sending her flying in to some of the rubble lying around from the previous explosion.

"You're going to need to do better than taijutsu of that level when combating enemies who possess the sharingan, you foolish child." Commented the man responsible for the kunai she was pulling out of her shoulder.

She looked to her left to see Genma struggling to get to his feet, clearly having similar difficulties as her in combating these enemies.

'_If my taijutsu won't work, and I have to worry about them predicting and copying my ninjutsu, I don't have much of a choice...if I don't do it, Genma and I will both be killed.' _Just as she finished her thought, 3 of them began to rush towards her.

Taking some of the blood from her stab wound, she quickly performed the proper seals.

_'Ram..Dog..Bird..Monkey..Boar'_ she recalled and performed, before gathering enough chakra and slamming her hand on the ground. "Ninja Art: Kuchiyose No Jutsu: Monkey King Enma!"

Before the 3 could reach her, a large puff of smoke appeared in front of her, quickly followed by the sounds of screams and bones being crushed.

As the smoke cleared, 3 lifeless bodies surrounded a rather large monkey, who had long white hair that was almost as long as he was tall, dressed in black battle attire, covered by sleeveless kimono shirt that had white fur around it.

"It's been 16 years since I've been summoned, and for the first time you summon me right as we're about to get attacked? You need to work on your timing, child." Commented the large monkey, looking back at Mirai.

"Uh..sorry, Enma.." she responded, still taken aback by how quickly he disposed of the people who rushed to attack her.

The fighting between Genma and the other opponents had ceased, surprised by the arrival of the monkey.

_'He was Lord Third's summon...how did she acquire a summoing contract with him...' _Genma thought to himself, before turning his attention back to those in front of him.

"Well, that oversized monkey may have been able to catch them by surprise, but it's not going to do you any good against us." Noted one of the men in front of Genma.

Looking from the eyes of one of the men he had killed, and to the enemies still standing, Enma was surprised to see the sharingan.

"I haven't fought a wielder of the sharingan since I was with Sasuke..I also thought the Uchiha clan had been mostly wiped out." Commented Enma, confused as to how 3...well, now 2 sharingan users stood opposed to him.

"They aren't members of the Uchiha clan," responded Mirai, as she made it to her feet after bandaging the wound on her shoulder, "But I don't exactly have the time to explain right now. We need to defeat them."

Mirai and Enma rushed forward together, assisting Genma who had already reengaged with the enemy.

* * *

><p>After what felt like an eternity, but in reality was only a few minutes, Mirai had already found herself having trouble catching her breath. She and Genma, with the help of Enma had disposed of the remaining non-doujutsu users, and only the 2 sharingan wielders remained in front of them.<p>

In the moment of them trying to catch her breath, they were rushed again. The 2 tomoe user headed towards Genma, the 3 tomoe user towards Enma and Mirai.

As Enma intercepted the opponent, the ground in front of Mirai began to crack, and she came eye to eye with the sharingan.

_'He used a shadow clone...' _ was Mirai's last thought, before the spinning tomoes of the sharingan put her under a genjutsu.

'_This could be bad..' _Thought Enma, as he disposed of the shadow clone that was used as a distraction.

He shot his arm towards the neck of the man who had captured Mirai in the genjutsu, but before he could make contact, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

'_Shit, he used the sharingan to control her and release the summoning..' _Genma observed, but unable to assist due to having his own trouble in front of him.

"Now that I've gotten rid of that annoying monkey, I'll get rid of you, too." Stated the man, removing a kunai from his pouch.

As he swung the kunai down, making contact with her neck, he was hit with incredible force as he heard a ninja yell "Konoha Gōriki Senpū!"

Lee landed in front of Mirai, flanked by part of the ANBU team that had accompanied him as support.

"Neko, tend to Mirai's wounds. We'll deal with the enemy." Stated Lee, taking command of the situation.

As the enemy rose from the rubble caused by him crashing in to a building after being struck by Lee, Lee immediately recognized him.

"You're Rikiya..a jounin from Sunagakure.." Lee stuttered, confused as to why an ally of his from a mission that occurred over a decade ago, and a ninja from an ally to the Leaf not only was attacking the Leaf, but possessed the sharingan too.

"Looks as if I'm outmatched here.." Rikiya noticed, his last remaining ally having been taken out by Genma and some of the ANBU members that had arrived with Lee.

"You will be punished for your betrayal!" Shouted Lee, before running forward with great speed.

Just as his fist was about to connect with the face of Rikiya, Rikiya shunshined away, his decision to retreat being his only option, knowing if he tried to face them all, death was certain for him.

Lee cursed his opponent getting away, before the ANBU notified him of the severity of Mirai's injuries.

"I've managed to stop the bleeding from her neck for now, but my basic medical jutsu is only going to keep her stable for so long. We need to get her to the hospital, stat." Neko informed him, worried about the amount of blood loss she had endured during the fight and from the cut on her neck.

"Right. Kuma, Inu, Ōkami, escort Neko and Mirai back to the village, and let Lord Hokage know we'll be back after we've finished cleaning up here." Lee commanded, followed by them shouting "Hai" in unison, and quickly heading back towards Konoha.

Opening her eyes, Mirai found herself in a bright room, but before the confusion fully set in, she was startled by a voice beside her.

* * *

><p>"Thank goodness you're awake, sweetheart." She recognized the voice as her mother, as she turned her head to look at her.<p>

"Mother.." the memories started to flood back to her, and the last thing she could remember was coming eye to eye with the sharingan.

"I can't remember how the fight ended...I guess I was put under a genjutsu...Is Genma okay? The villagers? We didn't fail in protecting them did we? What about-" Mirai's barrage of questions was interrupted by another voice.

"Yes, you were placed under a genjutsu. Genma is fine, just a few broken bones and other minor injuries. The villagers are safe. You didn't fail." Mirai's head turned to in front of her, seeing her two senseis enter the room, Kakashi addressing her questions.

"You gave us quite the scare, kiddo," Shikamaru spoke, going to the side of her bed, "Thankfully Lee and the team of ANBU showed up when they did."

"Right," began Kakashi, "Lee recognized the 3 tomoe user you were fighting, and the opponent whose leg you cut off survived as well, and we're currently getting as much intel as we can from him. We may have lost Raidō, but we've gained some valuable information, and you and Genma managed to take out 7 members from their ranks."

"Don't worry yourself so much, you've done Konoha proud." Kakashi finished, giving her a smile.

"Thank you, sensei." Mirai responded halfheartedly, as the nurses came in the room to check her over.

Kakashi noted her depressed state, reminding him of how he'd felt each time he'd lost a teammate on a mission, and made a mental note of making sure to have a conversation with her about the subject, but for now he was just happy to see her awake.

* * *

><p><em>Sorry that chapter 5 took a bit longer than the other chapters, but being busy combined with a little bit of writer's block got in the way. Going forward we'll be getting in to who or what is behind the attacks and the stealing of the sharingan, diving in to the political issues that have arose from the peace treaty ending, and watch as Kakashi and Mirai further their training. So until then, thank you all who have read my story, and a special thanks to those who have reviewed, followed and favorited. It is much appreciated.<em>


	6. Chapter 6: The Council's Meeting

Sighing as he watched the numerous council members and jounin file in to the office and take their seats, Kakashi still debated in his head over what to say. Following the most recent attack on the Fire Country, which resulted in two ninja in the hospital, including his student, and another dead, the council made the final push to vote on the possible impeachment of Naruto.

With Akira Hino, the head of council, taking his seat, the meeting began.

"As you're all aware, today we have come together to discuss and vote upon the impeachment of the 7th Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki," Akira began, "It is the belief of some of the members on this council, including myself, that his actions as Hokage in recent months have been of severe detriment to the village."

"His mishandling of the situation at the Kage Summit, which resulted in the Land of Lightning ending it's alliance with us, and potentially ending the alliance with other countries as well, are simply unacceptable and has made the situation involving stolen sharingan and attacks on our village even worse than it already was."

"Thus, my notion is to impeach Naruto Uzumaki, and as a gesture of good faith towards Kumogakure, imprison Sasuke Uchiha until the investigation in to the attacks on the 5th Raikage and our village are completed." Akira concluded, noticing the look of shock on the faces of some in the room, and looks of agreement on others.

"I'll open the topic for discussion now."

"While Naruto's tone and actions at the Kage summit may not have been ideal, something that must be understood is he acted that way in defense of a citizen of our village. Everyone who has held the title of Hokage would have done the same in one way or another, and that includes me." Kakashi defended, being the first one to speak on the issue.

"We cannot allow ourselves to fold and harm our own people over threats of surrounding countries. Lord Third, for all of the good he did for our village, made that mistake and ended up regretting it. His mistakes showed us even when you do everything in your power to strive for and maintain peace, there will always be evil in this world that ends it."

"Quite frankly, I'm surprised peace has lasted this long. Every day during my reign as Hokage, I expected something to go wrong. Cause I knew, and I'm sure those who have lived long enough on this council can tell you, and as I noted with Lord Third's tenure, peace most certainly does not last forever."

As Choza, Tsunade and several others on the council nodded their agreements, Kakashi continued, "Removing Naruto as Hokage at this point would do nothing but cause further shock to the people of Konoha, and the Fire Country as a whole. He's the guy people can look to and feel safe in this time of terror knowing he's overseeing them..protecting them."

"He's the hero of the 4th Shinobi War. People have referred to him on the same level as Lord First and Lord Third, as a God among shinobi. You take him out and put me back in there and they'll just be frightened further, looking at some past his prime old man as their guardian, a-ha ha." Kakashi concluded his defense for Naruto, it going better than he thought it would, seeing the majority of the council switching to agreeing with him.

"Well, Lord Sixth, while what you've brought up may hold some truth to it, it appears to me at this point that all Naruto is being right now is that image of a guardian." Akira rebutted, before adding, "Correct me if I'm wrong, all of the strategizing that has occurred, he has had to call upon you and Shikamaru Nara to assist him, if not completely develop the plans yourself, am I right?"

"Well, yes, but.."

"Then what is the point of him being our Hokage? Just as the image of him being the protector? I know I don't have to tell you that protecting this village isn't even half of what the job entails." Akira cut him off, clearly agitated by Kakashi's defense.

"What would happen if, heaven forbid, something happened to you or Shikamaru? Or the both of you? What would Naruto do then?" Akira questioned, something Kakashi didn't exactly have an answer for.

"This is exactly why having you back in as Hokage makes the most sense for the safety of this village. Naruto is powerful and works well as a guardian of this village, so let him be as such. Let him be able to go assist when one of the surrounding villages in our country gets attacked. Let him fight on the front lines with the strategies you develop. That, to me, makes the most sense." Akira had calmed down, ready to help conclude this.

"As a bit of a... peace offering, so to say, I'm willing to budge on the motion of imprisoning Sasuke Uchiha under the condition that you step back in to office. I trust that you will be able to speak to the Raikage and resolve the issues over time, and you're best suited to lead the investigations in to whoever is behind these attacks." Akira, clearly believing 100% in this being the right plan of action, opened the floor back up for others to speak.

"Naruto had 16 years to learn under you Kakashi, in regards to how to handle the responsibilities of being Hokage, and apparently it just never sunk in for him. You know I have no ill will towards him, as he is one of the greatest heroes Konoha has ever had, but it is my job, along with the rest of this council, including you, Kakashi, to act in the best interest of our village and country." This time it was Tsunade speaking, obviously swayed by the head of council's speech.

"Thank you, Lady Tsunade. Would anyone else like to speak on the subject?"

With no one else speaking up, Akira determined it time to hold voting on the subject.

"Very well. The subject we are voting on is to impeach Naruto Uzumaki. The subject of imprisoning Sasuke Uchiha may or may not be abolished depending on the outcome of this vote. Now, those in favor, raise your hand. Those not in favor, keep your hand down."

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry, Naruto. I tried to sway their opinion, but in the end I failed."<p>

The vote had ended with 12 in favor and only 3 against, which resulted in the impeachment of Naruto as Hokage, who Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura and Hinata were now standing in front of.

"Don't worry about it, Kakashi-sensei. Truth be told, I'm probably not made out for this. I don't exactly have the intelligence of you, Granny-Tsunade or Gramps, so I'm not really made for dealing with these types of things.." Naruto reassured his sensei, although still obviously depressed over losing the title of Hokage.

"Plus, more importantly, this keeps teme over there out of jail." Naruto joked, looking at the Uchiha standing just inside the doorway.

"And I can also help out some more on the front lines. Having to stay holed up in here while there were people out there dying for the village never set well with me, so it's not a complete loss."

"So, does this mean you'll be Hokage again, Kakashi-sensei?" Asked Sakura, as she helped Naruto pack up some of his belongings from the office.

"Well, it's a potential, and probably most likely outcome, but it's not set in stone yet. The active jounin and clan heads of the village will have to meet with the Daimyo. And even if it's me who is voted in, I still have to accept it." The reply from Kakashi had shocked the people in the room, as they had expected him to step in right away.

"You say that like there's a chance you won't take the position, Kakashi-sama.." Came from the timid voice of Hinata.

"Well, the council wants me to, but I'm not so sure I like the idea of it," Kakashi paused as he looked out over the village from the window, "Like Naruto said, having to sit in here and practically do nothing when there are battles occurring doesn't strike me as the best option."

"But if you don't take over, who will?" This time the question coming from Naruto, who had expected his sensei to reclaim the title as Hokage.

"Mmm, well, if I do go through with denying the position, there's other options. Tsunade is one, though I doubt she'd want the position again after so long," Kakashi began his list of candidates, "Choza is another. He holds a lot of respect in this village still even though he's passed the Akmichi clan head title down to Choji, and of course has a ton of experience in leading not only his clan, but teams in times of war."

"If those two fall through, I'll turn to you, Sakura." After the sentence left Kakashi's mouth, the box that was previously in Sakura's hands hit the floor.

"Uhh...what?" Kakashi turned at her questioning him recommending her, the shock, if not evident from her dropping the box, clearly evident in her facial expression.

"You heard what I said." Kakashi stated plainly, as if it was the most obvious choice in the world.

"While ideally someone with more experience than what you have would be the choice, I'm doubting either Tsunade or Choza taking the position given their respective ages, and to be fair they've already earned their retirement for all they've done for this village in the past."

"As far as I'm concerned, you're qualified for the position. You've been the head of medicine for Konoha for nearly a decade now, so you obviously know how to lead and manage large groups of people. Your analytical and strategical abilities are better than you're given credit for. After all, you were the first one to figure out the secret behind Obito's abilities. The people trust you, and most importantly in a time like this, you're level headed. Don't have to worry about you overreacting to any situation."

"You have time to think on it, and while I would appreciate knowing you would accept the position if offered, I won't think badly of you if you say no. Would make me a bit of a hypocrite to do that after saying no myself, a-ha." Kakashi ended his explanation, walking towards the door to leave the office.

"Well, see you guys some other time." With that, Kakashi left the building, and headed towards the hospital.

* * *

><p>As Kakashi approached Mirai's room, the sound of the bickering inside made it's way in to the hallway.<p>

"Why can't I just walk outside? I don't need a wheelchair." Came from the voice of his obviously disgruntled student.

"I'm sorry, Mirai-kun, it's hospital policy. You can walk as soon as we leave the doorway of this building." The nurse attempting to assist Mirai said, obviously having heard this refusal a time or two before.

"It's a lot easier just to sit in the chair and get it over with, Mirai. You'll never win this argument, I know from experience." The 3 people in the room, the nurse, Mirai and Kurenai turned their heads to the source of the voice from the doorway.

"Kakashi-sensei? What happened at the council meeting?" Mirai questioned, her mind leaving the subject of the wheelchair.

"How about I tell you after you get in that wheelchair and leave the hospital?" Returned a smiling Kakashi, and as Mirai finally sat in the wheel chair, he received a thankful glance from the nurse and Kurenai.

* * *

><p>Kakashi explained what had occurred at the council meeting while walking Kurenai and Mirai home, and received a familiar question from Kurenai.<p>

"So, I assume this means you'll return to office?"

"Eh, not exactly. The vote on the next Hokage still has to occur, and I'm not so sure I'll be accepting it even under the likely chance I'm selected again. Not sure I care to do that any longer than the 16 years I already have...I'll never understand how Lord Third reigned for as long as he did." Kakashi responded while laughing.

"But..if not you, then who?" The question coming from Mirai this time rather than her mother.

"Oh, there's a few options. Don't worry too much about it, the village will be in good hands."

As the three finally came upon the Sarutobi home, Kakashi gave his farewell.

"Rest up, Mirai. Our training will continue starting next week, and there's a few things that need to be looked in to regarding these attacks, so me and you may have to head out on another mission or two in the coming weeks."

"Of course, sensei. I'm looking forward to continuing our training."

"Thanks for accompanying us on our way home, Kakashi."

Kakashi raised a hand in reply, as he headed towards his own home, ready for the day to finally end.


End file.
